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There are few fates worse for an NFL offense than facing a 49ers‘ defense that is coming off a loss.

Just ask the New York Jets, who exited MetLife Stadium with cleat marks on their backs and the boos of the home fans ringing in their ears after enduring a 34-0 pummeling by San Francisco.

For the fourth time in four opportunities during the Jim Harbaugh era, the 49ers rebounded victoriously from a defeat, thanks to a suffocating defensive performance.

On Sunday, they forced four turnovers, surrendered 145 yards and allowed the Jets to enter field-goal range once in 12 possessions. Need more? The Jets’ rushing total (45 yards) nearly matched the passer rating of quarterback Mark Sanchez (39.9) as San Francisco posted its first road shutout (and largest margin of victory on the road) since a 38-0 win over the Saints on Jan. 6, 2002.

After the game, several players said they spent the week in Youngstown, Ohio, stewing over the previous Sunday’s 24-13 loss to the Vikings, in which the defense surrendered 25 first downs, 146 rushing yards and three touchdown drives of at least 11 plays.

“We had a bad taste in our mouth this whole week,” defensive tackle Ray McDonald said. “We knew the only way to get that bad taste out was to come out here and win this ballgame. We all just came together as a defensive unit and said, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to come out here and play the best game of our lives.’ “

Said nose guard Ricky Jean Francois: “Everyone wanted to do everything they could within their power to get this back to being a relentless defense.”

If the script sounds familiar, there’s a reason. Since Harbaugh arrived, the 49ers have outscored opponents 93-11 in games following losses. In those four bounce-back games, the defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown and has forced 14 turnovers.

“After that performance we had last week, each and every player took it upon themselves to not let that happen again,” cornerback Carlos Rogers said. “There wasn’t much that needed to be said. We didn’t need to have a group meeting.”

Instead, the 49ers’ defense had group meetings in New York’s backfield.

After not registering a sack against the Vikings, linebacker Aldon Smith had two of the 49ers’ three sacks, and his sack-and-strip of Sanchez late in the second quarter led to a David Akers’ field goal and a 10-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the boos began to cascade from the stadium’s highest reaches after Sanchez’s third pass of the half was tipped by McDonald and intercepted by linebacker Patrick Willis. Some fans might have started chanting for Tim Tebow, but the Jets’ backup inspired the same angry response after he was dumped by Smith for a 2-yard loss on a quarterback keeper on the final play of the third quarter.

Later, New York went from ineffective to inept.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Sanchez threw a short pass in the right flat to wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who went down with a foot injury and fumbled before he was touched by a defender. Rogers picked up the loose ball and raced 51 yards for a touchdown behind a convoy down the left sideline to give the 49ers a 24-0 lead.

“I was just going to tag him down, and fortunately I had a lot of defenders in front of me,” Rogers said. “It was just getting to the end zone. That was about as easy as it gets. I don’t get those gift interceptions, but I got a fumble, and I’ll take it.”

The gift-wrapped score erased any remaining suspense, and the 49ers effectively went into kill-the-clock mode, thanks to a running game that collected 245 yards (their most since 2010) and averaged 5.6 yards a carry.

After a loss featuring a rare defensive meltdown, the latest bounce-back win featured the elements that have keyed San Francisco’s success since Harbaugh arrived.

“The offense established the run,” Jean Francois said. “We established stopping the run, got them to air it out and got turnovers. We got back to 49ers football.”